ICYMI: Ken Paxton Backed DOGE Cuts That Weakened Screwworm Defenses and Put Texas Cattle at Risk
Austin, Texas – As Texas scrambles to stop the spread of New World Screwworm, Ken Paxton is under new fire for backing DOGE-led cuts that gutted critical federal programs and fired workers meant to protect America’s livestock from threats like this.
Paxton was one of DOGE’s biggest cheerleaders, dismissing concerns of axing vital programs Texans rely on as “crazy.” Now, reports are questioning whether the Paxton backed cuts were “worth the risk to one of the state’s most important industries?”
Republican Texas Agriculture Commissioner Miller has blasted the slow federal response to contain the screwworm as the USDA operates with “significantly reduced staff.” This growing threat to the Texas cattle industry comes as beef prices reach record highs and Texans continue to face rising grocery costs fueled by Paxton-backed tariffs.
Read for yourself:
MeidasTouch News: Ken Paxton Backed DOGE Cuts That Weakened Screwworm Defenses and Put Texas Cattle at Risk
June 11, 2026
By Aaron Parnas
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton enthusiastically supported the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and praised Elon Musk and President Donald Trump for slashing federal spending.
But some of those cuts eliminated programs that helped monitor and contain the New World screwworm, a devastating livestock parasite that was once eradicated from the United States.
Now, with the first confirmed Texas screwworm case in decades, the state’s $15 billion cattle industry faces a growing threat that experts warn could cost billions of dollars.
Paxton repeatedly celebrated DOGE’s efforts to reduce federal spending.
During an appearance on The Truth with Lisa Boothe, Paxton defended DOGE’s aggressive cuts, arguing that opponents were simply resisting the loss of government funding. Paxton also criticized fellow Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn for questioning DOGE’s actions, saying it was “crazy” to criticize the agency’s efforts.
While Paxton applauded DOGE’s budget reductions, the federal government terminated approximately $382 million in funding for programs administered by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
According to the FAO, those cuts affected more than 100 programs focused on critical issues […] Among the canceled initiatives were programs that monitored and responded to the spread of the New World screwworm throughout Central America.
For decades, those efforts helped prevent the parasite from advancing northward into the United States […] The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, one of the agencies responsible for combating screwworm outbreaks, lost nearly a quarter of its workforce during the federal downsizing effort.
The consequences are now becoming clear. On June 3, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the first case of New World screwworm in Texas since 1966. The infestation was discovered in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County.
Agriculture leaders have spent months warning that the screwworm was moving steadily north through Mexico toward the Texas border.
Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller criticized the federal government’s response, arguing that USDA officials moved too slowly and failed to use every available tool to stop the parasite’s advance.
The economic stakes are enormous. NBC News reported that a widespread outbreak could cost the livestock industry billions of dollars and further increase beef prices that are already at record highs.
Economic damage across the Southwest could exceed $3 billion. If an outbreak mirrored the prolonged 1962-1980 period, losses could surpass $8 billion in the United States alone.
Now, Texas has its first confirmed screwworm case in sixty years. Ranchers face the prospect of billions of dollars in potential losses, and state officials are questioning whether the federal government acted aggressively enough to stop the threat before it reached American soil. The return of screwworm to Texas raises a serious question: were DOGE’s cuts worth the risk to one of the state’s most important industries?
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